After the performance and result on Satuday lunchtime, we sat at the top of the table, albeit for a few hours. Unfortunately, Manchester City werent able to give us a longer stay.
This coming weekend will be a slightly different story, however. Assuming we collect three points from our home game against Stoke, we'll end the evening top of the pile, by virtue of the fact that Chelsea dont play until Sunday.
And then, on Sunday, it's Chelsea v Manchester United.
Supporting Man Utd just doesnt work and unless it was the last game of the season, with us needing a United win to claim our first title for nearly two decades, i couldnt envisage wanting them to win any game.
But on Sunday, very unusually, it will be case of not wanting them to lose.
League tables at this stage of the season dont mean much in terms of trophies, but in terms of mentality, it can be very meaningful for us.
We're often accused of being overly cautious, Rafa is sometimes considered to be a manager who'd rather keep hold of a point, as opposed to risk losing it in pursuit of all three. This is an accusation that often refers to away games, with the Villa game of 2 weeks ago being used as the latest example.
However, one wonders how our mentality would be affected by our league position, and more specifically, whether there's an even bigger incentive to go out with a more attacking mindset, if we're sat at the top of the table.
Assuming we beat Stoke, and Chelsea dont take all three points against Manchester United (i dont think they will), we'll go into the derby as the league leaders. The Merseyside Derby isnt an ideal game to test this theory with, because we rarely go to Goodison with a cautious mentality, derbies just arent like that.
I personally think we'll beat Stoke and then win at Everton too. After the derby, we go to moneybags Manchester City and it is this game that'll be interesting to watch, in terms of our mentality.
Will we go there with the intention of keeping it tight, not losing, and hoping to grab a goal, possibly via the brilliant matchwinning pair of Gerrard and Torres? Or will we just go there realising that we're superior, and play our game with the intention of imposing OUR game on them?
More to the point, will our league position influence this?
I wonder whether being league leaders would have an impact on our mentality in these type of games.
I'm of the opinion that if we go into games like City away as league leaders, it would make a difference. I think we'd go there with the confidence of league leaders, almost with a slight swagger, and with the strong desire to consolidate our position, or possibly extend our lead, if other events went our way. There could be a sense of "we're top dogs, and we're going to show why, we're here to win and we will do".
I think that a certain amount of pressure comes from being top of the pile, the knowledge that others are breathing down your neck can spur you on and the consequence of not winning and being caught or overhauled, can make a difference. You know there will be a psychologically big consequence if you dont win, as you're likely to be knocked off top spot.
For this reason, i think next weekend could be extremely important for us in terms of shaping our league campaign and how we go into games.
A win is likely to mean we'll end the weekend top of the table and it's far easier to lead the pack than chase it.
It could be a pivotol weekend, if not in terms of points, certainly in terms of attitude and mentality. We need a champions' mentality and heading the table could play a big part in that. It could bring the kind of belief and confidence which we have previously lacked, the kind which makes a big difference.
Here's hoping.
This coming weekend will be a slightly different story, however. Assuming we collect three points from our home game against Stoke, we'll end the evening top of the pile, by virtue of the fact that Chelsea dont play until Sunday.
And then, on Sunday, it's Chelsea v Manchester United.
Supporting Man Utd just doesnt work and unless it was the last game of the season, with us needing a United win to claim our first title for nearly two decades, i couldnt envisage wanting them to win any game.
But on Sunday, very unusually, it will be case of not wanting them to lose.
League tables at this stage of the season dont mean much in terms of trophies, but in terms of mentality, it can be very meaningful for us.
We're often accused of being overly cautious, Rafa is sometimes considered to be a manager who'd rather keep hold of a point, as opposed to risk losing it in pursuit of all three. This is an accusation that often refers to away games, with the Villa game of 2 weeks ago being used as the latest example.
However, one wonders how our mentality would be affected by our league position, and more specifically, whether there's an even bigger incentive to go out with a more attacking mindset, if we're sat at the top of the table.
Assuming we beat Stoke, and Chelsea dont take all three points against Manchester United (i dont think they will), we'll go into the derby as the league leaders. The Merseyside Derby isnt an ideal game to test this theory with, because we rarely go to Goodison with a cautious mentality, derbies just arent like that.
I personally think we'll beat Stoke and then win at Everton too. After the derby, we go to moneybags Manchester City and it is this game that'll be interesting to watch, in terms of our mentality.
Will we go there with the intention of keeping it tight, not losing, and hoping to grab a goal, possibly via the brilliant matchwinning pair of Gerrard and Torres? Or will we just go there realising that we're superior, and play our game with the intention of imposing OUR game on them?
More to the point, will our league position influence this?
I wonder whether being league leaders would have an impact on our mentality in these type of games.
I'm of the opinion that if we go into games like City away as league leaders, it would make a difference. I think we'd go there with the confidence of league leaders, almost with a slight swagger, and with the strong desire to consolidate our position, or possibly extend our lead, if other events went our way. There could be a sense of "we're top dogs, and we're going to show why, we're here to win and we will do".
I think that a certain amount of pressure comes from being top of the pile, the knowledge that others are breathing down your neck can spur you on and the consequence of not winning and being caught or overhauled, can make a difference. You know there will be a psychologically big consequence if you dont win, as you're likely to be knocked off top spot.
For this reason, i think next weekend could be extremely important for us in terms of shaping our league campaign and how we go into games.
A win is likely to mean we'll end the weekend top of the table and it's far easier to lead the pack than chase it.
It could be a pivotol weekend, if not in terms of points, certainly in terms of attitude and mentality. We need a champions' mentality and heading the table could play a big part in that. It could bring the kind of belief and confidence which we have previously lacked, the kind which makes a big difference.
Here's hoping.
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